Quiet

RORY

~Rogues are on campus.~

The alarm blares angrily into the air, and I can barely believe my eyes as I watch the wolves hunt down terrified students.

It’s all straight out of a nightmare.

~How the hell did this happen?~

“Aurora…,” Xander says, ripping me from my shock. “There’s too many of them. We need to get back inside and hide.”

“But—” I protest.

“No, Aurora! I’m not risking the chance that you could get hurt.”

He grabs my hand, yanking me back toward the School of Divination. But when we turn around, we come face-to-face with a giant rogue—blocking our way.

He’s massive, and his black fur is dirty and matted; drool is dripping from his fangs.

“The Moon Goddess is my aunt,” I cry out. “And she will ~not~ be happy with you if you hurt me.”

But that doesn’t stop him.

I take one look into his crazed black eyes and realize he doesn’t care if I’m a Goddess or not.

To him, I’m just another Freshman snack.

“Aurora…RUN!” Xander yells, pulling my hand and leading me down the stairs.

One foot after the other, I have to use all of my willpower to concentrate on not tripping and tumbling all the way down.

~One clumsy move and that would be the end.~

I can hear his paws pounding on the concrete behind us. I glance back and see that there’s two more on our tail now.

They’re in wolf form, so we won’t stay ahead of them for long.

We need to find somewhere to hide.

~Fast.~

Xander points to the entrance of the towering library, just a short distance away.

“We might be able to lose them inside there!” he yells out.

I nod, trying my best to keep up with him.

We get to the doors of the library, and Xander pushes it open and slams it behind us.

He turns, and with the flick of his wrist, lifts up a couple of nearby desks in the air using his magic—setting them down in front of the door to barricade it.

A moment later, the rogues slam into the doors, angrily growling and scratching on the other side.

I get a chance to catch my breath, staring at the shaking door.

“That won’t hold them for very long…,” Xander says uneasily. “We need to find a place to hide in here.”

As I follow Xander deeper into the cool, dark library, Everett flashes through my mind. I wonder if he’s heard news of the attack by now.

He must be able to sense my panic, and I wish I could mind-link him to let him know I’m okay.

We enter the main study hall—which is completely deserted. Besides the angry rogues pounding at the door, it’s completely quiet and still inside here.

Xander points under a desk, and we crouch to hide underneath just as a huge crash echoes throughout the library.

~The rogues have broken in!~

My heart starts to thunder as I try to stay completely still, listening to the sound of paw steps approaching.

I hear bones cracking as one of them shifts.

“You can’t hide forever,” he yells out, his sadistic voice echoing through the massive hall. “I can smell all three of you.”

~Huh?~

~Three of us?~

I scan under the desks, and sure enough, I see someone else crouched a couple rows away.

~Mia.~

We make eye contact, and even though she’s far away, I can see the terror in her eyes. I’m used to her always looking so smug, but right now, she’s giving me a look that says ~help me.~

I can see the rogues getting closer, sniffing the air as they weave through the rows of desks.

“If we run, we can make it to that door,” Xander whispers. “It leads underground to the archives. We might be able to lose them down there.”

I nod. It’s now or never.

I look at Mia and silently point to the door. She nods, understanding.

I raise my fingers, counting down.

~One…~

~Two…~

~Three…~

Suddenly, we all crawl out from under the desk and sprint toward the door. Xander gets there first, pushing it open as we follow him into a dark passageway.

Behind us, the rogues howl, knocking over desks as they scramble to follow us.

We go down a flight of stairs, entering a dimly lit, sprawling area of books extending as far as the eye can see.

Mia and I follow Xander, who leads us through the maze of bookshelves.

He’s clearly spent a lot of time down here, because it seems like he knows exactly where he’s going.

At least I hope so.

I glance back to check how far behind us the rogues are.

But when I do, I lose my balance and trip on my own feet, falling face first and skidding on the ground.

My body lights up with pain as I groan.

“Help!” I call out.

But when I look up, Mia and Xander have already disappeared further into the archives. They probably didn’t notice I fell behind.

My mind starts to panic as I struggle to get back up to my feet, but my body is weak and exhausted from all the running.

I hear a rogue growl as he approaches, licking his lips as he slows down—knowing his prey is caught.

~No, no, no, no….~

My heart starts to race; I’m moments away from becoming this rogue’s lunch. My mind flashes with thoughts of Everett.

But I can’t expect him to just jump out and save me now.

As the wolf gets closer, ready to pounce, the bookshelf next to him starts to shake.

Books rattle, falling off the shelf, and suddenly it lifts up into the air and crushes the rogue underneath.

The rogue yelps in pain—completely flattened to the floor by the heavy wooden shelf.

I turn my head in shock to see Xander standing behind me. His arms are raised up and sweat drips down his brow from casting the spell.

“Thank you…,” I say as he reaches out his hand to lift me up to my feet. “You—you killed him with magic…”

“Sometimes rules need to be broken,” he says. “Now come on. I know somewhere we can hide, and there’s still more rogues on our trail.”

We turn to continue on our way, when suddenly, I hear a piercing scream fill the air.

~Mia.~

We turn a corner to see a rogue standing over Mia. Its jaws are clamped down on Mia’s neck. He shakes his head back and forth, ripping her throat out and sending blood spurting all over her outfit.

My eyes widen as I watch her fall limp to the floor.

I’m slightly ashamed to admit that I’ve fantasized about a lot of bad things happening to Mia, especially considering all the stress and pain she’s caused me since I started college.

But I think getting murdered by rogues ~definitely~ falls under the “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy” category.

Xander tries to pull me away, but I stay rooted to the spot.

I know it sounds ridiculous but…

I just can’t leave her to die like this.

“Help keep the rogues away,” I say to Xander. “I need to save her!”

He nods uneasily, using his magic to pick up a book ladder and pinning the murderous rogue to the nearest bookshelf.

I rush over to Mia, placing my hands on her. I feel the golden energy flow between me and her.

Blood is gushing out of her open wound, but I can still feel a small thread of life force clinging on. She hasn’t died yet.

I watch as I take her pain, feeling the pain of my neck rip open while hers starts to heal.

The pain overwhelms me, and I close my eyes, feeling my body drain away.

Suddenly, I’m in the spirit realm, surrounded by white mist.

~Thank the Goddess…~

~It must’ve worked.~

In the distance I can see the door is open, waiting for me to pass through.

I move toward it, about to step back into the land of the living…when I hear a voice call out behind me.

The voice of my mother.

“Aurora.”

I turn to see my gorgeous mom. She has a sad smile on her face, and her flowing dark hair flutters in an invisible wind.

“Mom…,” I say, “It’s so good to see you again.”

“I know,” she says, a soft smile growing upon her angelic face. “I see you are growing up to be such a strong, beautiful girl.”

I smile, feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

“Thank you, Mom…I’m trying my best.”

“Yes, and you are doing well, Aurora. But I must tell you something important.”

“What is it?”

“Saving people’s lives is one thing…but I know you are trying to cross the threshold and bring people back from the dead.

“But I must warn you. Not even a Goddess should have that power. Do you understand?”

I nod. The smile fades from her face, and my mother looks deadly serious.

Fear flashes through her eyes.

“When someone is dead, you must leave it that way,” she says. “Because if you don’t…I must warn you. Terrible things can happen.”

~What?~

~Terrible things will happen?~

~What does she mean by that?~

But before I can ask anything else, I’m pushed through the door and my mother disappears in a flash of blinding light.